3rd War Series Episode 1: Transformations part 1
by Lady Starscream
Summary: Part one of the introduction fic for the series. A group of friends find a mysterious glowing object, and more than they bargained for when they are thrown into another reality... that of the Transformers. Partially OC Centric.
1. Chapter 1

This fanfic is written for my best friends. You invaded my life! now my stories, too!  
just kidding. What's a story without you all?  
You're a bunch of characters, that's what you are!  
(By the way, I only based the characters off you guys. No reflection on your actual personalities, So don't sue me)  
Also, Dennis, Once again, my jealousy of your creative writing skills has gotten the best of me. Here's to you and your "Autobot Marauders/Revolutions/Revvcons (whatever they're called)." Way to kick Megajerk's tin-foil butt!

the Disclaimer (had to put it somewhere!

Transformers, it's characters, and all that is related to it in any way belongs to Hasbro. Jade, Windstriker, Gobee, Mick, Needle, Bullet, Wyldkat, Razer, Dusk, Syus (Scythe), Backdraft and all the other original characters in this fic belong to me.

* * *

One It was a sunny Saturday afternoon on the country backroads of Ohio. a light blue-grey colored four-door sedan made it's way down the lonely road. To be specific, the car was a 1989 Plymouth Reliant. Four people were seated in the car. Two in the front, and two in the back All way too caught up in their conversation.  
The 19-year-old woman in the driver's seat had just borrowed the car from her fiancee for the day. She had shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes; Which were hidden behind her wide-framed glasses.  
Behind her was a tall skinny boy of about 16 or so, with short brown hair and brown eyes. You could tell Dan spent a lot of time in the sun, because he was sporting a tan that made his skin look a darker copper tone than it really was. Beside him was a sandy- haired boy of 15, named Tony; Who was hyper, as usual. The blue-eyed Videogame addict was making casual conversation with Dan, as the girl beside Anna, the driver, fiddled with the radio.  
The young woman in the passenger seat, so concentratedly fiddling with the radio had green eyes, and brown hair that came to slightly below her shoulders. Her hair had blonde streaks at the very front edges, but you could barely see them, since her hair was currently in a ponytail.

She tuned into the local rock channel, and the car was filled with music; And several groans. "Wendy, can't you find anything better to listen to?" Tony suggested, his voice indicating annoyance. The brunette sighed and turned to another station. Much to the relief of the other passengers.  
The four were headed to the local theatre to catch a movie; But they were allready running late. They just hoped their friends, Tim, and Dustin, would wait for them. There Hadn't been enough room in the Reliant, so the two guys rode with their friend John. The radio scanner - Wendy, groaned as a more-less popular song came on. "Hey, turn it up." Dan prodded from the back seat. The driver threw Wendy a look out of the corner of her eye. There was just SOME music you could only take so much of... Wendy pretended not to hear the pleas.

"Awwww.." chorused both the backseat guys.

"Pleeeeaaaaasssseee." Tony chorused, Dan echoing in perfect unison.

Wendy glanced quickly to her left, receiving only a shrug from the driver. No helpfullnes there. So she carefull adjusted the volume to a_slightly_ higher level. Music filled the car, and before they knew it, they were all listening to the whatever-you-call-it kind of music.

Tony heard the noise coming from the trunk first, then Dan. It started out as a soft clunk, which then escalated to a grinding noise. The sound increased in intensity, becoming more like a low groan. Then a sound more like a whine took over, quieting into a hum before dissapearing. Tony had to listen for a second before fully hearing it, but it was definitely there.

"Hey guys?" the sandy blonde asked. "yeah." came the unisoned reply. "Did you hear something?" he asked. "Yeah" Wendy turned around backward in her seat as far as her seat belt would allow. "The rocks rattling around in your head." she said with a teasing smile. Tony glared back. "No, I mean I really heard something." he decided it wasn't worth explaining, and glanced over at Dan.

The tan-skinned boy was listening to some noise somewhere, because he turned back to Tony, and said: "I heard it, too." All four listened, as the pattern repeated a few more times before the noise died completely. "I sure heard that." Wendy stated. "Me too." Anna put in, pulling over.

Getting out, she headed to the back of the car. "Heaven only knows what Dennis keeps in that trunk of his." she muttered, shaking her head.  
Wendy got out and started toward her as the key turned in the trunk lock. The bluish white light from the object inside radiated out as the trunk lid came open. Dan looked back and saw it. He and Tony both scrambled out out to go have a look.  
"What is it?" Tony queried. "I don't know." Anna replied. "Cool!" Dan breathed, reaching out to touch the glowing silvery object."Don't! It might zap you or something." Wendy warned. Anna reached toward it. "Anna, don't..." Anna cut her friend off as she reached into the trunk to pick it up.

"I don't think Dennis would have anything harmful in the trunk of his car." she said, bringing it out. "He's too chicken for it." she added, holding the large metal contraption where everyone could see.  
It wasthe better part of two feet or so long, with a small blue sphere in the center. The blue-white light was radiating from the sphere, like a disembodied light bulb.

It was partially covered by the contoured metal wrapping around it. The thin, shapely bars extended past the core on either side,then ended abruptly near the ends. Where these bars ended, the cylindrical metal was slightly smaller in diameter. The very ends were the smallest in diameter, measuring about six or so inches in diameter. The entire device,(with the exception of the blue-colored core) was made of a silvery metal. "It looks like an alien spaceship engine or something." Tony put in. "Trekky." Wendy accused jokingly. "So, you're into that Transformers cartoon." he replied in the same tone. "So am I, mind you." Anna intervened.  
"Can we touch it?" Dan asked, coming closer. "Yeah, just not the blue core." She replied. One by one, the three teens put their hand against the silvery metal. Each time they did, it maded a barely audible hum. "Wow." Tony breathed. The center of the device gave off light as though it held a powerfull blue flame captive in it's orblike center. But the metal was cool to the touch.

When Tony put his hand on it, he noticed it felt like a weak electrical current was travelling through the entire surface of the metal. "We gotta get going, guys." Anna interrupted. "Yeah, we're allready late." Wendy admitted, her eyes still glued to the device in Anna's hands. "I'm going to show this to Tim, and see what he thinks of it." the blonde said as she carefully set the device back in the trunk and closed the lid.  
"It's too bad Dennis is on vacation, or I'd call him and demand an explanation." Anna commented, as they pulled up at the local mall. By the movie theatre, three young men stood, waiting.  
The Tallest of the three had brown hair a little lighter than Dan's. His dark brown eyes glanced around as he waited impatiently for his friends, an annoyed expression on his face. John glanced to his left at Tim, who was slightly shorter, and more broad-shouldered. The stout young man was watching the people around him with an unreadable expression. At least he was waiting patiently. As for John, Tim thought, he'd been in a bad mood since he'd woken up that morning. Not that it was particularly rare for John to be in a bad mood anyway. Tim was wearing a blue silk Japanese Dragon-print shirt, and black jeans.

His brown eyes scanned the food court for his missing friends, hoping they would arrive soon. Dustin, beside him, was the shortest of the three. he also had sandy-brown hair, and hazel eyes. The boy of 17 was of about the same build as John, but more athletic. Not only was Dustin more active, but was also part of the highschool R.O.T.C. program, like Tim. In their spare time, Tim and Dustin were constantly played Dustin's strategic videogames, and consulted the computer-whiz of the group, John, for new gamecodes and internet information about them.  
On the other side of the food court, Anna, Wendy, Tony, and Dan walked in, excited expressions on their faces.  
"Hey, Tim. Dustin, John." they said as they walked up.

"Hey, what movie do you guys want to see?" John asked. The group scanned the names listed, then Wendy spoke up.  
"You gotta see what we found, Tim." she said excitedly.

"Yeah, it's really wierd." Tony added.

Tim didn't say anything, but by the looks on their faces, he could tell it was interesting. "Oh really, what is it?" John asked half-interested half-impatiently. "We don't know. But you've gotta see it. maybe you can figure it out." Anna replied.

"It looks really strange." Dan put in from behind them.  
Tim glanced at Tony, who also looked excited. "It looks like some sort of spaceship-engine-thingy." he put in.

Tim looked a bit skeptical, but said: "Alright. We have a little time until the movies start. Let's see this device." The trio followed the others out to the car, as Anna said "We have an hour till the next movie starts. I think we should go somewhere a little less public for this." "Yeah." The other three echoed. Tim and Dustin looked over at John, who nervously said "Yeah, I guess. But this _better_ be good. I can't spend all my gas running around for nothing."

"Believe me, you won't be dissapointed." Wendy smiled, as she got into the car.

"We'll meet you at the old dam, across the river from here, by the old gravel pit." Tim said. "Okay. See you there." Anna said, and started the car.  
Ten minutes later, the blue car turned off the main road, down an old tree lined back road. John's old white camaro turned down the gravel drive, and roared down the winding dirt road beside the river. The two cars pulled off to the right side, towards the river and parked.

John, Tim, and Dustin got out and walked up to where Anna had pulled up in front of them. Anna turned the trunk key, and the lid came open. The same bluish light as before met the eyes of the group.  
"Wow!" Dustin breathed. Anna reached into the trunk, smiling, and picked up the device. "See, I told it would be worth your time." Wendy commented. Anna handed it to Wendy. "Can I touch it?" John asked cautiously. "Yeah, go ahead." She replied. "It won't hurt me, will it?" he asked, reaching towards it. "It's not going to hurt you, John." Tony said, coming up, and taking it from Wendy.

John touched it quickly at first, as though it were a hot iron. then cautiously (and nervously) laid his hand on it. The device made the same barely-audible sound as before when he did. Dustin came over to analyze it's design. He ran his hand along the contours of it's metal form. "Just don't touch the blue thing in the middle." Dan pointed out.  
"Hey Tim, check this out!" he said. Tony handed it to him, as Tim came over to look at it. "Here." he handed it to tim, who glanced quickly at Wendy.

"You're sure it won't hurt me?" he asked.

"I'm sure." she nodded.

Tim turned it over in his hands, and asked "What is it"  
"We don't know." Dan put in.

"Dennis had it hidden in his trunk." Anna explained. "I would call him and ask what it is, but he's on vacation." she added.  
Suddenly, the device came to life, making a low hum; And a whine like a power cell charging. Tim immediately dropped the metal cylinder.

"Don't drop it!" Anna exclaimed, bending to scoop it up. The others backed off like it was about to go off, as Anna brushed off the dirt it had collected when it hit the ground. Suddenly, there was a blinding blue-white flash. Then the old dirt road was as empty as it was before. All seven teens, and their cars were gone without a trace. It was like they had never even been there at all.

* * *

The Decepticons were being quiet again. Too quiet. But, of course, the Autobots didn't seem to mind. After all the shenannegans the 'cons had put them through in the last few monthe, it was kinda nice to get alittle peace and quiet. Of course, when Megatron and co. got quiet, it usually meaned they were brewing up something big. And The scouting missions had turned up nothing, Which made the Autobot leader more on edge.  
Despite the fact that the numerous patrols and scouting routines, the Autobots had completely missed the fact that two Cybertronian-style fliers were spying on the Autobots. And the Decepticons, too. Watching, and waiting; And planning...

Somewhere in deep in the mountains, the soft hum of aircraft engines echoed around the rock, as the two fliers landed. Razer, the reddish brown and black one, transformed as he landed, revealing dark green accents here and there on his armor. His face was almost completely hidden behind a dark optic visor, and reddish-brown vocaliser mask. Although his transformation was quite similar to the terran-style jets, the angular wings folded neatly onto his back. The battleflier's jets concealed themselves into his lower legs, and the flier's canopy and front section folded to rest neatly across Razer's broad chest area.  
His companion, Dusk, transformed likewise as she landed, except her color scheme was more in pink and tan . When she transformed, her armor glimmered with hues of red, and yellowish-orange. Silently, she followed him to a flat rock face. Razer pulled out a transmitter and pointed it at the grey slab of rock in front of them. It slid aside easily, revealing a dark corridor. Once the two were inside, the boulders slid back into place, as though the doorway was never there to begin with.  
Down the darkened hallway, the two neutrals stepped out into a fairly large cavern, roughly the same size as the Ark's control room, except more square. Lights had been arranged around the walls and the high ceiling, giving it a dungeonlike quality lightwise. On the wall across from where they entered was a computer. Not small, but definitely not as big as the Autobot one. To the left, on the adjacent wall was a metal door, leading to other smaller caves. It didn't look like much, but it was the only thing they had had, since they escaped the Decepticon forces on Cybertron. The duo had been freed from the Decepticon mid-prison after the Combaticons returned to Cybertron in their attempt to take over the planet. Unfortunately, they failed. The two had snuck across the spacebridge to earth, and had been watching the Autobots and Decepticons fight one another. now they were just waiting for their chance to strike.  
Their comrade, Backdraft, had supposedly also been freed and given a new form also, but Razer and Dusk hadn't seen him since just before their imprisonment. "Someday," Dusk commented, "We will find Backdraft, and free our Combaticon friends from their Decepticon Brainwashing." "Yes, and when that time comes, we will show both the Decepticons and those pathetic Autobot weaklings who is more powerfull." Razer returned, his voice deep and shadowy.  
Razer strode over to the darkened side of the cavern, the wall where the door they had entered was, across from the computer wall. from the door, the cave wall was straight, then angled back into the darkness, shrouding it completely from sight. The pillars, boulders, and such hid the far wall of the partition, making it impossible to judge exactly where the actual cave ended, and where this area began.  
The mud-brown Razer tapped a keypad, and the lights in the smaller area flickered and came to life, revealing the contents of the small, carefully hidden part of the cave. A work station, and project table strewn with bits of metal and various tools.  
Dusk smiled malevolently as Razer picked up a small metal sphere he had been working on. It was softball-sized, and had overlapping metal plating in squares from one end to the other, and one side had a small box attatched to it. Each end had a small opening, from which a miniature antenna extended. "Believe me," he sighed, "I would like nothing better than to take Megatron apart peice by peice. But we will have to make due with what we have, for the time being." He finished, holding up his newest 'toy'. The bomblike device was designed to release a powerfull energy blast that would instantly scramble and destroy any computer circuitry. Specifically, the delicate circuitry of a cybertronian. The flier picked up a microcircuit frequency adjuster and started working. Dusk watched her lifemate work for a second, thinking of what their homeworld had once been like; Right before the war began. They had been scientists, trusted with the design and invention of new gizmos and gadgets to make life better for all cybertronians. They had worked with some of the most brilliant inventors on the planet. Some unknown to the general public, but still great minds by the their standards. Even the sometimes over-imaginative Autobot Wheeljack would let them into his workshop to see what new project he had going. Although, Dusk mused, being two metres from an explosion wreaked havoc on one's audio receptors, and usually left them ringing for a week.  
"Once we have the second device completed, we will finally have our revenge." Razer smiled grimly at the picture. Dusk leaned in, to watch over his shoulder as he worked. "But how do you propose we get the devices into their respective bases without detection?" she asked. She smiled, and added half-jokingly "Hand it to someone and say "Here you go, happy activation day"  
Razer paused, and Dusk stepped back from his 'personal space.  
He set the sphere on the worktable, and turned to face his lifemate. The devices have an electromagnet, so it will 'stick' to one of their faction, and they will unknowingly carry it into their base." he replied unamusedly. "We then activate it with that transmitter." the cinnamon-brown and green flier pointed to a small rectangle laying on one of the nearby worktables. Dusk nodded thoughtfully, then asked "But what if it malfunctions?" "Have faith in my capabilities, Dusk." he went back to work, then added in a lighter tone. "Don't worry. It won't effect humans, if that's what you're so worried about.If you let me finish my work, I have confidence it will work"  
Dusk paused, but Razer gave her a reassuring glance. He turned, and took her hands in his. "Don't worry. If we do succeed, there won't be anymore war. And we can return home to make things right again"  
The orb suddenly sputtered and threw sparks. Dusk grabbed a tool and sealed the power leak. When the sparks had faded, she turned to Razer. "I understand it isn't our fault if the humans decide to get in our way. But I don't want any more innocent lives to be sacrificed for the sake of a war they were unwillingly made part of." she replied.  
"I know what you're hinting at, love." Razer replied, remembering those on their homeworld who had refused to become part of the violence that swallowed their society. "And they will not have gone offline in vain." He started working again. Soon, we will avenge them, and destroy the ones who began this selfish war. Autobot and Decepticon alike."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony picked himself up off the dusty ground, brushing himself off. Glancing around absently he realized with a jolt they weren't in the same place they had been five minutes ago. "What happened?" he silently asked himself. Then he suddenly realized he wasn't the same as he had been five minutes ago, wither. His arms and hands were metal. He glanced downward, and realized the rest of him was metal, too. He started to panick, but forced himself to fight it and just stay calm. His legs were grey, with black 'boots' that came up just over his knees. At the back of each heel was what looked like a tire. On his chest was what seemed to be the top half of a car. He froze, trying not to let his thoughts turn and go in the direction they seemed to want to go right now.

He had been turned into a machine.

A living machine.

He was a car.

He turned off his optics for a second, and tried to take a deep breath to calm himself a little. He was still shaking, though. "Okay, I can do this. It isn't so bad. Maybe the others are here, too. They must've been turned into some kind of machines too. They'll know how to get me out of this. yeah." He turned his optics back on, and glanced around. Nobody had shown up yet. "Just a few seconds more, they'll show up any second" he thought. "I hope." he added despairingly. He had to resist the swelling urge to scream or just freak out. It isn't every day you get turned into a car that turns into a robot, after all..

He started to walk, hoping it would help take his mind off the confusion and panic that had been building in the back of his preocessor. Reluctantly, almost afraid of what he might find, he glanced down at his arms. On either black-colored forearm was a headlight, and the dark armor went up to his elbows, where it was instead grey in color. all the way to his shoulders, which were also black.

Then he remembered the show that Anna and Wendy were talking about just before the spaceship-engine-thingie went off. "It must have knocked us out. Yeah, that's it. I'm just dreaming." he thought, reassuring himself with the possibility.

"Or worse." he shuddered. But he stopped himself abruptly, before he could start panicking again. He kept walking, and spotted Tim, but almost didn't recognise him.. The tall, muscular young man was looking over his new scale-patterned armor appreciatively.

It was a green-blue in color, depending upon how the light hit it, and yellow hues could he seen in the undertones of the metallic surface in a few places.The armor itself resembled that of the anchient samurai warriors of Japanes history, but had scales like a dragon Or some other large lizard. Tony thought momentarily of Godzilla, but stifled it when he thought of the seriousness of the situation they were in. At least he had been right about not being the only one to be 'transformed'.

He glanced over at the green transformer that had once been a tall, dark haired muscular man named Tim. Now, he was a green something-or another type of lizard.

A pair of leathery black wings were swept back behind the green scale-armored mech, and the 'claws' at the wing-hinges came over his shoulders, giving it a capelike quality. The dragon's head rested squarely on his chest, making it quite obvious what his transformation was. Four sharp claws adorned the knuckles of both hands, and the fifth one was on the underside of each wrist, pointing away from each hand.The tail of the dragon was on his back, and a kitana-style sword was visibly sheathed inside it, as it's handle stuck out above the scabbard. His helmet was the same color as his body armor, with a ridge down it's center. His optics were a soft amber color, but you could tell they were actually yellow in color.

Tony, on the other hand, realised his alt. mode was none other than a BMW 350I. His light blue eyes and light grey face were framed by a black helmet and battlemask. He was about to see if he could transform into a car when a shadow fell across the ground in front of them. "Tim, hey Tim." a tall broad-shoudered mech who could easily be mistaken for Megatron walked up.

The Green-scaled Mech once known as Tim responed with "I am called Syus now. It's an alternate form of Scythe." He turned to see who it was, and his optics brightened in suprise when he realized it was Dustin The charcoal colored Megatron-mimic grinned and said "and you can call me Bullet."

Despite the fact of his yet-undiscovered 'identity crisis', the mech was slighly different from the Decepticon tyrant. His armor was a charcoal in color, instead of the gunmetal grey of Megatron. And his sidepanels were blue in color, instead of Decepticon red. Also, his armcannon, which looked to be smaller than Megatron's, was mounted on his left forearm, instead of his right.

But his optics, however, were the same bright crimson red in color as the Decepticon commander. The two looked over at Tony with an expectant look. "I don't know what to go by, can't I just go by Tony?" he said. "Nah." Bullet said. "How about Gobee?" Syus (the Dragon) nodded. "Sounds okay to me. Gobee, then." the little black car said.

A dark green, blue, and black ford F150 came roaring up behind them, a white Chevy Camaro Z28 hot on his heels. They both screeched to a halt and transformed. "We can turn into cars and stuff!" The pickup truck, Dan, exclaimed. "Hey Tim, check this out." John sounded from behind him. He transformed back into his Camaro mode, and did a peelout, kicking up a significant-sized dust cloud before speeding away across the barren plains. When he got a gew hundred yards away, he slammed on the brakes and did a 180 degree skid-turn before speeding back and doing a flip as he transformed. "Helluva dream, huh?" he said. He had obviously been listening to their conversation. "Yes, it is." Syus responded. "Hey Mic, race ya to the ridge and back." The pickup truck, Dan taunted. The white camaro, (John), nicknamed Mic, was about to take him up on his offer, but the dragon signaled for him to wait.

"We have no idea where we are, or what is going on. I would hate for you to go zooming off and get yourself ambushed." Syus reasoned. The white Camaro gave him a confused look, but stood still. "So, if we're just dreaming, all we have to do is wait till we wake up?" the little black car Tony/Gobee sounded.

"We're not dreaming." a female voice sounded from above. A purple and tan A10 Thunderbolt transformed and landed, walking up to the ever-growing group. The jet's wings folded neatly onto her back, in a backpack-like shape, and the cockpit of the plane came forward to rest on the center of her chest. Each of the two small jet engines on the plane's tail were now on the back of each lower leg. Her round grey face was framed by a purple helmet, with small spikes on either side of it. And her topaz-blue eyes offset the purple and tans in her armor. The gun turret that was beneath the front of her plane form was subspaced, for now.

The white Camaro, Mic (John), glanced at her, and lifted an optic ridge realizing what she'd been turned into. "Damn, Wendy, you look good." He chuckled. She gave him a sarcastic "thanks" look in reply.

"Do you remember that cartoon Anna and I are allways watching?" she asked. "I know what _Transformers_ is." Tim replied. "Well, you're going to think I'm nuts." the purple plane scowled. "Or dreaming." John commented. The plane shot him another look. She was about to explain when a purple and muave f15 Eagle (jet) flew up and transformed. "The Autobots are ehaded this way." She said excitedly. She was obviously enthused to be here. "Are the Decepticons are down in that valley." she pointed to the valley not to far away.

"There's a reason we're here." Windstriker (the purple jet) said, as the glowing device radiated blue from inside Jade's cockpit. The muave and blue seeker nodded. "Primus works in mysterious ways."

The others gave her a quizzical look, but Windstriker understood her meaning.

Below them, the Autobots approached the crevasse where their base computer, teletraan-1, had tole them the Decepticons would be. Megatron smiled malevolently from his position on a plateau above the valley. His plan was coming together perfectly. He would trap the Autobot leader, and send his enemies into confusion. Without their leader, they wouldn't know what to do! The makeshift solar power collector was enough to get their attention. But that wasn't all he was up to. He had ensured the capture of four humans from a power facility nearby they had raided. They had conveniently led the Autobots back here, and the humans would be more than enough bait to lead Optimus Prime to his destruction.

As if on cue, the Autobots pulled up, and transformed. They approached nervously, as though sensing something was wrong. Soundwave, Hook, and Bonecrusher left their stations at the energy collector as the other Constructicons found safer cover, firing wildly at the Autobots the entire time. The Autobot leader dove behind a boulder, narrowly dodging a blast of weaponfire. The humans reported missing were nowhere to be seen. He hoped they weren't too late allready.

"Autobots, attack!" he thundered. Ironhide, Brawn, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Hound, Bluestreak, and Bumblebee charged forward, firing off a row of shots as they scattered to find cover. From the opposite side of the valley as the Autobots' approach, Megatron watched the group approach the energy machine, waiting. Beside him, Starscream stood watchfully, eager to jump in and join in the fray. Skywarp and Thundercracker flew overhead, strafing the opposition. But not enough to hinder their approach. Soundwave, standing on Megatron's left at a small distance, watched the battle develop.

Megatron glanced at him and canted a grin. He also regaurded Starscream with a "_see, I told you it would work"_ look. The arrogant seeker had predicted the plan would be a complete failure, with too many loopholes, and the Autobots would never fall for it. "Never underestimate the stupidity of Autobots in large groups." Megatron chuckled. Starscream scowled and turned his attention back to the scene playing out before him.

On the other side of the construct, the four humans yelled for rescue. "Help!" shouted one "Help us!" yelled another. Prime instantly recognized the voices. "The missing workers!" he said to himself. Without any thought of how much danger he was putting himself in, the Autobot leader transformed and sped down the valley. Behind him, the other Autobots tried to give him cover fire as best they could, but they were outnumbered, and busy trying to defend themselves from the various Decepticons. The red-and-blue semi thundered across the battlefield at full speed, intent on rescuing the innocent humans who had been imprisoned in a energy-cage type forcefield.

Something in the back of his processor told him something wasn't right. But Optimus Prime was too focused on getting the four workers to safety, before they, also, became casualties of a war they didn't even belong in. From behind cover, Ironhide fired off a row of shots at one of the constructicons who was trying to hit Prime, wishing he wasn't pinned down by weaponfire. If he'd gotten the chance, he would have been right behind Prime. He just hoped Prime could get there in time, before one of the 'cons decided to shoot them.

Optimus transformed and sprinted the final few yards. A weaponblast came careening in front of him, but he ignored it. He fired off a shot in reply, then blasted the control box at the base of the 'cage'.

The humans ran, but one of them yelled "It's a trap!" before he, also, ran to find cover.

But it was allready too late. Megatron cackled maniacally as he pressed the button on the control box he held. The ground under the Autobot leader dissapeared in a cloud of smoke and dust. The large hole the constructicons had created had been packed with powerfull explosives, which detonated a second after the red-and-blue Autobot dissapeared into the chasm...


	3. Chapter 3

"Optimus, look out!"

**BLAM!**

Everyone heard the sound of the explosion ricochet across the rock desert. Windstriker was the first to rush forward to the overcropping of rocks at the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley. Down below them in that valley, the Autobots battled fiercely against the steadily advancing Decepticons. The Decepticons had created the perfect ambush, and were now appearing from all sides to surround the Autobots. With nowhere to run, they were outnumbered, outgunned, and losing fast.

"We have to do something, Syus." the purple Windstriker started forward. But Tim, now the green dragon known as Syus, caught her arm. "No,this isn't our battle."

Another barrage of weaponfire sounded loudly, echoing around the rocks. Someone cried out as he was hit by a weapon blast. "The Autobots are surrounded!" she argued pleadingly.

"There's nothing we can do to help them. Do you want to put our lives in danger?" She glanced at the others. The white Camaro once known as John, gave her an angry look. Then glanced at the edge of the cliff as another shot rang out. And another shout. "I think we should get out of here." He said evenly. Gobee, the little black and silver car, looked scared, too. He was staying behind Mic (the white Camaro), in case anyone from below tried to come up here where he was. Needle (Dan), the pickup truck, looked sligtly nervous, too. Jade just folder her arms defiantly. "You _know_ what _I_ think." She took two steps forward, ready to follow Windstriker.

Meanwhile, from his place beside Megatron above the fray, Soundwave registered a prescence. He could barely detect it, but it wasn't coming from the valley. He concentrated on tracking it's source, and found not one, but several energy signatures. Doing a quick double-check, he realised it wasn't one of their faction. Autobots? They were faint, yes. But still close enough to be detected. There, across the valley, against the treeline.

Megatron ontice the blue cassette player concentrating on something. "What is it, Soundwave?"

"We are not alone." the blue and silver Decepticon replied in his harmonious, duo-tone voice, and pointed across the valley, slightly to the right. Megatron followed his gaze to where the small group was hiding.

Meanwhile, Optimus clambered out of the chasm he had been in. His armor was blackened, and even charred in places, but he was still functioning. He tried to clear the fuzz from his sensors, and his audios had been damaged in the blast. (he guessed this because they were still ringing), but through the haze he could still make out the outline of the three figures standing on the rocks over the valley. And instantly recognised them.

He hated to call a retreat, but knew there was no other choice. His team had taken too much damage to stay here and fight much longer. The red and blue Autobot opened his mouth to give the order, but the words never formed. He instead found himself choking on static, and even that much was drowned out by the constant thrum of weaponfire, and the explosions. Even that was occasionally drowned out by the sound of jet engines as Thundercracker and Skywarp strafed the remaining Autobots mercilessly.

He headed to one side for cover, thankful that he was still alive, and noted that the Constructicons had once again underestimated his durability.

again.

He fired off a couple of shots at Hook and Scavenger, who scampered behind some nearby rocks to return fire, and hoped his self-repair systems would come on, and repair some of the damage soon. He managed to get in a couple of shots towards where Megatron and Sounswave were standing, but Soundwave was too focused on whoever was watching them to notice.

"Laserbeak, eject." Soundwave ordered. He pressed a button on his shoulder, and the his chestpanel opened. The red and black cassette inside ejected itself, transforming into a small birdlike robot resembling a buzzard.

From behind his boulder, the Autobot leader noticed Laserbeak's departure, and glanced at where the bird was headed. Something flashed through the Matrix.

something... familiar, yet not.

He shook it off when another laserbolt whizzed past him, and turned to return fire. He felt his auto repair systems kick in, and fired off two shots, both hitting Scavenger and Hook squarely, and knocking them back. Well, at least he'd gotten his sight back.

And his aim.

He transformed and zoomed down the side of the valley. "He's okay!" Spike yelled from the sidelines. The other Autobots had all but lost hope by now, and a rallying cheer (or was it a battlecry?) went up as though they had been given a new hope of victory. Prime didn't hear it, though. He was still trying to ignore the ring-turned buzzing in his audios. Eventually, the buzzing dulled down to a low hum, and the surrounding noise started to fade back in.

Megatron turned, saw the semi coming, and turned to meet him, silently cursing the day those constructicon failures joined their faction.

"Prime." he growled in greeting.

Spike's voice echoed from somewhere in the background.

"Go get 'im Prime!"

Bumblebee halfway tackled the teenager behind a boulder when Megatron fired back. Now he was MAD! His plan had failed! Not that it hadn't happened before. It had. But this one was so perfect! why did it allways have to be him? why couldn't the Autobots have things go awry for a change?

This was just humiliating...

Megatron shoved the thought away angrily.

The silver Decepticon leader glanced back at where Laserbeak had headed. If they were Autobots, why hadn't they attacked yet? No, his sensors told him there was something unusual about this. But what?

Prime had climbed around behind the small plateau, and up to where Megatron was standing. He fired out of instinct, but the autobot leader just dodged it. "Blast you Prime!" Megatron growled. "Why can't you just **DIE**!" He punctuated the last word with another blast from his fusion cannon. This time, he managed to hit the edge of the plateau, and send a bunch of pebbles and shattered rock to the valley floor.

Prime tackled Megatron, but as he fell, the silver lecepticon used his legs to flip Prime over his head. Megatron found his feet faster than Prime, and fired at him from behind as he was getting up, sending him careening over the edge, and down into the valley. Megatron walked over to the edge, hoping to see his defeated enemy lying in peices below. what he found was Optimus Prime hanging onto the edge with both hands...

Across the valley, the group of unsure humans-turned-transformers watched the battle grow with interest. The rest of the group had gotten closer to the edge to get a better look. "Well, at least Prime was okay." Jade commented. "Hey, what's that?" the black-colored Gobee pointed to the air. Windstriker barely had time to run from the very edge of the cliff back to cover before the cassette-bot flew over. "That was close." she turned back to the little car. "Thanks."

He nodded, then looked back to the valley, suddenly aware of the situation again."No problem... can we please leave now?"

Windstriker was making her choice, but if she did, she'd have to find a way to not give away the position of the others. She hurried back to the edge to check on what was happening.

Megatron put one boot on Prime's hand, and aimed his fusion cannon at his archenemy's face, grinning malevolently the entire time. "This is turning out better than I hoped." he thought.

Meanwhile, Windstriker stepped on some loose rock, and the mech below instinctively fired up at her. "AAck!" she dove behind another bit of rock. She didn't realize her cockpit glass would reflect the sun so well, until Soundwave saw it. He fired as soon as he saw the movement, but missed the rocks completely. The sound caught Megatron's attention momentarily, distracting him long enough for Prime to find a foothold. And heft himself back up onto the plateau, and send his archnemesis flying.

Soundwave turned and fired at Prime, hitting him squarely in the chestplate. Megatron snarled and fired his armcannon at the downed Autobot leader. He fired again, knocking Prime off the edge, and to the valley below, with a resounding crash.

Windstriker knew what she had done was on purpose. And made no attempt to cover the reflective glass on her chest when she dove for cover. She didn't expect Soundwave to fire off a row of shots at her, though.

"Sh#$!"

Jade yeeped, and they all ducked behind cover again. And the tree behind them exploded into a million burning particles. Windstriker jumped ove Jade and Syus to avoid the falling tree.

"I wanna go home!" Gobee wailed from the other side of the burning pine tree.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Mic demanded "Get us all killed before we can get home?" he snarled the last part. He glared at her from her right, which was on the far side of Syus, thankfully.

"I'm going to help them." She said.

"Oh sure. **NOW** you want to help! now that they've decided to **shoot at us!**" Mic growled back.

Syus just turned to her wordlessly, as though expecting an explanation. "I'm going to help them, Syus, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. My life is my own. If I want to put it in danger, it's my choice, not yours." She drew her pistol and started forward. Syus had started to reply, but Jade cut him off. "Wait." She flanced back to see the jet unholstier her pistols. "I'm going, too." she glanced unsuredly at Syus, hoping he might decide to help out.

Syus glanced around, to see if any of the the others were going along with this.

But instead got:

Mic: glare

Needle: "Don't look at me, I'm not getting roasted."

Gobee: silence (although he had a really frightened round-opticed look)

He finally settled his gaze on Bullet, the silver megatron-lookalike. Also his most trusted friend, and an excellent marksman.

Bullet nodded. "You'll need cover fire. I'll give you that." Windstriker nodded back. She turned to leave, then paused and turned long enough to say: "Oh, and by the way, they know we're up here. So I suggest you find better cover." Mic and Needle exclaimed a glance. Windstriker turned to leave. "Hey, wait for me!" Jade hurried to catch up with her.

Syus took a deep breath and tried to think. Now, because of one person, all of their lives had been put in danger. and until they found a way home, they would remain in danger, in this world, and without any allies. He wouldn't even trust the Auto-Bots" Windstriker had wanted to help. What if they saw the group as their enemies? He had to think in the present first. _Then_ the future. Since nobody else wanted to offer advice, except for Bullet offering his help, it looked like they were on their own. Mic, if provoked, would probably get mad enough to rush into a fight without thinking and get himself shot. Needle might follow Mic, but would be more likely to follow whoever was in charge. Bullet, well, he knew who his friend trusted. He wouldn't lead unless something happened that he was absolutely forced to. And Gobee...he decided not to go there. Windstriker wanted to go help the Auto-Bots, but didn't lay out any possible plans, or even suggest what anyone else do to help, or even to protect the group. She just wanted to fly into battle without a plan. and Jade followed right behind her.

Syus knew what this meant. _He_ had to be the one to stand up and take charge. He knew the rest of the group would be at odds with one another over what to do. And when a group cannot agree on something, they cannot be organised, and protect the group as a whole.

Someone would eventually get shot.

The green colored dragon turned to Bullet, knowing he would be able to offer some advice. Bullet was allways good with strategies. (Well, at least as far as his videogames were concerned).

"Any ideas what we're gonna do?" Syus asked in a low tone, keeping a watchful eye on the skies in case Laserbeak returned.

"Well, first off, he have to find new cover. But I don't think we should stay together. The more of us there are, the better the chances are of them seeing us. I say we pair up and find new cover. Not too close, but not too far away from each other that we can't reach each other if something happens." the group nodded, and Gobee looked less tense that he'd have someone with him. Mic looked just plain ticked at the entire situation. Needle kept looking from the group to the alley and back, making Bullet and Syus both nervous.

"We need to try to find out how our comm-links work, and stay in touch." they quickly laid out a plan of who was going where with who, and Syus just looked over at Bullet like "I hope this works." They started to get up. "Also." Bullet added. "Whatever happens, don't move from your spot. If you need help, call me or Syus." he glanced at Tony and Needle. "And whatever you do, don't panic. The worst thing you can do in a bad situation is panic. It'll only make it worse. okay?" he glanced at the anxious faces. "Let's go."

Once the rest of the group had dissapeared behind the treeline, Bullet gave Syus a look. "I know." the green mech replied, seeming more mature than usual. "But there's nothing else we can do. We have to make sure they stay safe." He glanced at his grey friend.

Bullet only nodded. "You're a natural leader, Syus. You should be in charge here, not me."

Syus looked out over the canyon at the raging battle, and Bullet followed his gaze. "Maybe. But your tactics and quick thinking are more usefull than firepower right now."

"So?" Bullet pulled out a blaster "You provide the firepower, and I'll provide the tactics."

Syus nodded. "deal."


	4. Chapter 4

From the cliff overlooking the battle, two jets suddenly appeared. Megatron glanced up between exchanged blows with the Autobot leader. Then two more mechs appeared, firing wildly from their vantage point. Blitzwing flew past, strafing the Autobots, and momentarily distracting their leader. Starscream, who was near Megatron, and for some reason still on the ground, asked "Who are t_hey_, Megatron?" in a tone implying Megatron would know. "I don't know, Starscream!" Megatron retorted, narrowly ducking another punch from Optimus Prime. Starscream kept firing at the Autobots, but was far enough away to be safely out of range of the Autobot leader's attack. "But you're supposed to know _everything_, oh _mighty _leader!" Starscream shot back, screeching as a shot nearly took his head off. Instead it hit the rock next to his head. 'You'll pay for that, auto-brat!" the seeker screeched, firing back with both arm cannons. Megatron was about to reply, but Starscream didn't hear. He had taken off after the two jets that flew over.

Jade swooped down among the fighting Autobots and Decepticons. Turning sideways, she came alarmingly close to Skywarp's face. The black and purple jet was distracted for a second, and received a punch to the faceplates from Ironhide, who he happened to be fighting at the time. thundercracker looked up and took off, Skywarp following.

Windstriker swung down circling Megatron and flew back out. Up on the ledge, Bullet transformed into a sniper rifle and landed in Syus's hands. The green dragon-mech looked through the rifle's scope, looking for a certain person... He spotted Thundercracker and Skywarp in hot pursuit of Jade. On the other end of the valley, Windstriker was leading Starscream through an elusive chase of loops and dives. The sound of their engines bounced across the valley as Windstriker went into a steep dive, then pulled up sharply, hoping to make the red and blue Decepticon crash. Starscream, being more experienced, followed her, easily pulling out of the dive after her. Skywarp and Thundercracker were gaining on Jade, who radioed Syus up on the ledge overlooking the valley. The dragon had his sights aimed on Megatron, but the jet's voice brought him out of his concentration. "Bullet, a little help would be nice here!"

Syus took aim and fired. Thundercracker was too busy chuckling about how easy it would be to shoot her down to notice the high-powered rifle aiming for him. That is, until Bullet's blast pierced his wing. The jet let out a cry, and Jade snickered, doing a flip and twirl to reverse directions. She swung down to fire off a row of shots at the mayhem below.

When Thundercracker came to, he realized what had happened, and shook his head to clear the dizziness. He swore under his vocalizer at the 'stupid femmebot and her friends' and started walking. His wing was too damaged to fly without it hurting almost unbearably, so the jet opted to stay on the ground. As much as he hated to. About two hundred meters away, up a small slope, he could make out the mech that shot him down. He grinned. He'd be able to get his revenge after all. "Nobody shoots down Thundercracker and gets away with it!" he fired with both arm cannons.

He missed. But it did hit the nearby tree.  
Unfortunately, Gobee was underneath it. The black mech let out a shrill cry and dove to one side to avoid a ton of burning tree landing on him. He had forgotten about gravity, apparently, and his leap ended in a roll down the other side of the embankment. Gobee, who was rather vocal about his discomfort on the way down smacked into another tree, which swayed dangerously. Gobee winced and covered his face, praying it wouldn't fall on him. The pine tree finally swished to a stop, and the black and silver car uncovered his face. He could still hear the sounds of weapon fire, so he was still in danger. He picked himself up, and cautiously made his way back towards where his friends were, determined to survive this small catastrophe alive.

Sneaking along the tree line, the black mech darted from tree to tree, not even noticing as Thundercracker came up behind him. That is, until the blue jet wrapped an arm around his neck from behind, grabbing his arm and forcing it behind his back with his other arm. "Going somewhere?" the jet chuckled. Gobee knew he was on his own. He had tried to call for help, but the sound was drowned out by the loud weapon fire. Almost instantly, his gun appeared out of subspace in his free hand. Even though Thundercracker was almost twice his size, the jet jumped when the blast hit him. Gobee broke free and ran for where he'd last seen his friends. He would've transformed, but the terrain was too rough to make it in car mode. "I might be small, but at least I can run fast!" the mech thought as he took off up the slope. As soon as his path cleared, he transformed and gunned his engine, hoping he could make it in car mode. the black BMW 530i did a peelout, kicking up dust and stones in his wake. He realized he was going too fast when he skidded past behind Bullet and Syus, and reached the edge of the cliff. He slammed on his brakes, but it was too late. He'd done a slide right off the embankment.

He transformed midair and squeezed his optics shut, hoping to land on his feet the (far) distance to the valley below, but instead felt something grab onto his shoulderplates. He opened one optic, then the other, glanced down and eeped audibly, then looked up. Syus was hovering in his dragon mode, clutching the small mech in his talons. "Are you alright?" Syus asked calmly. Gobee gaped. He hadn't wanted to be here, nevertheless be involved in this fight. He was about to reply, but instead winced when a bright flash of light streaked past his helmet. There was a sound like a shotgun, as Blitzwing's missile connected with Syus's chestplate. The dragon let out a sound halfway between a snarl and a grunt of surprise, and let go of Gobee.

The small mech's world did a loop-de-loop, a full 360 degrees before he slammed into the ground below.

Syus hit the ground, and seeing Blitzwing, took off after the mech to settle their fight. Gobee picked himself up a moment later, shook his head, then put a hand to it. He suddenly realized he was in the middle of the battlefield as several shots whizzed past. The small transformer. froze as cold panic gripped him hard, almost unable to make any of his servos move. He flattened himself against the crevasse wall, realizing how close he had just come to being **_KILLED_!**

Shakily, he found his balance, and retreated quickly to the cover of a nearby boulder. Well, if you had been looking at him just then, you would have seen more of a black and silver flash than a small black and silver car mech scrambling for cover, but anyway, Gobee made it behind the rock, and sat down rather abruptly, shaking uncontrollably. He buried his helmet in his arms, trying not to let the shock overtake him, trying to understand it all. "I didn't ask to be a part of this _stupid_ war, why did I have to end up here?" he whimpered to himself. Glancing over, he suddenly realized he wasn't alone back here. There was also a human hiding out here. He was about 17 or so, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and was looking at him curiously. Realizing how small and fragile this human was made Gobee feel like they had something in common.

He suddenly spotted a glint of yellow out of the corner of his optic.

"Spike!" Bumblebee ran over to where his friend was, his handgun aimed at the black and silver mech's helmet.

"Don't move, Decepticon!" the yellow bot commanded.

Even though he was shorter than Gobee by several inches, the handgun was enough to freak out the small car it was aimed at. He drew back against the rock behind him and blurted "PleasedontshootmeI'mnotaDecepticonIswear!" trying to move back more.

Bumblebee scrutinized the mech for a minute, then realized he didn't have any symbols.

"We're... I'm..." Gobee thought for a minute, then tried to make his words come out slower. "I never wanted to be here, or be a part of this battle." He flinched visibly as Bumblebee took a shot at one of the Decepticons over Gobee's shoulder.

"Yeah, well neither do I." Bumblebee turned to Spike. "Prime sent me to make sure you're okay. There's Decepticons all over the place, and I'll try to get you out of here as we can find a way out. Prowl's trying to find someone to give us cover fire on our way out. I'm sorry to have gotten you into this Spike." the minispy apologized.

"It's okay, Bee." Spike replied in a voice that said it really wasn't. But he was trying to make his friend less nervous. "Prowl sent an S.O.S. to the Ark, so backup should be arriving soon." he added.

Gobee looked frightenedly at the battle before him. Somewhere in the distance, a mech cried out as he was shot. A yell of victory came from somewhere else as the twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, shot down two more Constructions.

Gobee flinched again as a laserblast whizzed by fairly close. "...why?"

Bumblebee grimaced "Because if we weren't here, the Decepticons would drain this planet of every single drop of energy, and heaven only knows what would happen to the humans if we weren't here.

Gobee turned and gave him a look that said "Understatement of the _Century_. He looked over at Spike, who was huddled close to his Autobot friend for cover. So fragile, so helpless against the giants that threatened his homeworld. How many more humans would be put in danger, or how many would even die before this battle was over. It frightened him to think about it, but Gobee could only imagine what that would be like. What if those people were his friends? his family? the Autobots didn't hear the car pulling up at the edge of the battlefield.

Sparkplug had sworn never to get anywhere near the battles, and the Autobots had promised to keep Spike out of their fights, but he had heard their SOS signal when it reached the Ark. Why had Spike gone with them!? he knew the risks. If he'd been there, Sparkplug would have stopped him from going along. But he hadn't. And he didn't have time to be angry with his son right now. He just had to find him. He didn't even notice Hook and Bonecrusher coming up towards the sedan out of the forest until they Transformed. The middle-aged man opened the door and _ran._ Not a moment too soon, too. The car he'd just been in exploded in a ball of bright orange flames. Sparkplug swerved left, catching his foot on a rock, and half-slid half rolled down into the more shallow end of the valley. He looked up to realize just where he was, and froze.

Gobee glanced up at the sky as Windstriker flew over.

Spike suddenly screamed "DAD!" Bumblebee had to grab his friend to keep the teen from running out onto the battlefield.

He peeked out, scanning the field and saw the dark-haired human trying to get to cover among the weaponfire.

First he ran one way, and an energy burst landed at his feet. He turned another way. Another blast.

He heard Prime yell for his troops to hold their fire, but the sound was lost over the din of battle.

"Dad!"

Gobee's fuel pump jumped at the sound. "That human is this kid's father!" he thought. He glanced at the struggling boy, who had tears forming in his eyes, and made up his mind.

"You have to do something, Bee!" Spike pleaded.

One energy blast hit so close, Sparkplug was knocked off his feet, and put his hands over his head protectively.

Without a second thought, Gobee jumped to his feet and ran towards where Sparkplug was. Gobee transformed mid-stride, and sped towards the human. Sparkplug looked up at the car speeding towards him, who leapt up and landed a nice flying karate-kick on the approaching Reflector. He then transformed back and swung a door open. "Need a ride?" He asked.

"Thanks!" Sparkplug scrambled in, and Gobee slammed his door. "Hang on!" the black car did a peelout, and sped towards the safety of the boulder, explosions rocking the ground around him. But now Gobee was more worried about the human in his care than his own armor, which he was (_kinda_) sure would take it.

Once behind the safety of the boulder, Sparkplug got out, and Gobee transformed. "Dad!" Spike and his father hugged, more than happy to see one another. "I was so worried about you! I was afraid that... what if the Decepticons had gotten ahold of you!?" Sparkplug half-admonished.

"You're right, Dad, I should have stayed at base. But I was safe with Bumblebee." Spike tried.

Sparkplug gave him a look that clearly said "We are going to discuss this later." then turned to Gobee. "Thank you, whoever you are." he said breathlessly.

"My name's Gobee." the black-armored blue opticed mech replied, smiling behind his vocoder mask. "And thank you, Autobot." he said to Bumblebee. "For giving me a reason to fight." he drew his hand blaster from subspace. He looked down at the two small (to him) humans. Bumblebee smiled slightly. "No problem, and mine's Bumblebee." Gobee nodded and turned to go. "See you later." He transformed and sped away.

In the air above the battle, Windstriker was having a hard time outrunning the coneheads, Ramjet, Thrust, and Dirge.

"We've got her now!" Thrust cackled. "We'll see about that." the purple and tan jet muttered under her breath. Windstriker transformed and put her feet forward, coming to a screeching halt. "Hi." she waved as the jets flew past on either side.

She had already transformed back to jet mode and accelerated in the other direction before they could even turn around. Windstriker and Jade passed each other, and Windstriker fired a missile at Skywarp and Starscream. The black and purple jet didn't even have time to teleport out of the way. He let out a surprised cry as it connected with his wing. Starscream yelled something, probably an insult, but Windstriker didn't hear it. she sped up. Ramjet, Thrust and Dirge accelerated, and Windstriker slowed down a bit. The two were so busy catching up to the purple and tan A-10 thunderbolt in front of them ,they didn't see Jade do a jack-in-the-box maneuver behind them. The mauve and blue seeker did a vertical climb so fast the two never saw her before she fired her blasters at them. Thrust and Dirge spiraled away, trailing smoke, and Ramjet cursed loudly. Jade snickered. "Shame on you. Do ya kiss your maker with that mouth?" she chuckled.

"Thanks for the help." Windstriker radioed. "No problem. Need help with the white one?" Jade replied.

"no thanks, I..."

Windstriker's reply was cut off by the missile that hit Jade's afterburners. Starscream snickered as he rejoined the fight. "Apparently, your weapons are sub-standard, Autobot dolt." he snickered.

"Dagnabbit!" Jade cursed as she collided with the top of the canyon. She bounced off and did a 180, hitting the ground with a thud. "Oh my aching helmet." she transformed and put a hand to her head as she got up. Spike and Sparkplug gawked.

Whirlwind radioed Starscream. "A. we are not Autobots and B..." she transformed and put her feet out in front of her, barely missing scraping Starscream's undercarriage with her chest. She transformed back to jet mode.

"My guns are bigger." She unleashed a round of shots from her gatling cannon, leaving a trail of large ugly holes along the back of the Air commander's wings and tailfins. He screeched and tried to transform. Before he could get completely into robot mode, three more hit him, and one shattered his cockpit window. Windstriker transformed and brought her rifle out, aiming at his chest. "Nighty-night." she smirked and fired.

Starscream got out half a reply before he was knocked out. "Why you... Aaaaugh!"

THUD.

Windstriker smirked and went back to jet mode.

Jade looked at the two humans, and a grin crossed her features. "Hi." Bumblebee aimed his gun at her, and probably would have shot her, except that he didn't see any faction symbols on her wings. "Just dropping by for a second to say hi." She started to take off, but unfortunately Bullet got knocked out of Syus's hand and landed on top of her.

"This just isn't my day." she groused, shoving the gray Megatron lookalike off her wing.

"I know just how you feel." he replied.

Megatron!" Sparkplug exclaimed.

"Huh?" Bullet and Jade looked at each other.

"No, I'm Bullet. I'm with them." he said, motioning to Jade and the distant Gobee. Then he realized the silly grin Jade had on her faceplates.

"What"

"Oh, nothing. I just suddenly realized it wasn't me, and you really do resemble old bucket head. Well... except your sideplates are blue, and you're a different shade of gray..." she trailed off for a moment, then remembered what she was really going to say. "Oh yeah, and we can use that to our advantage. We can lure Megatron, the real one, out of sight of the other Decepticons, and have you fly up and call a retreat. They'll think you're him." the jet suggested. Bullet nodded.

"It might work." Jade prompted.

"I'll go tell Syus." He flew up towards the cliff where the green dragon had regained his old vantage point, and was shooting at various Decepticons with his blaster. Syus looked down, and nodded, noting his second-in-command was all right. He fired off another shot at a passing Decepticon. He would much rather be engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his kitana (sword), but he knew it would be inferior to the firearms being used in the battlefield. And that it would be a loosing battle if he did use it. So he (rather unhappily) settled for shooting at the opposition. Bullet appeared over the edge of the cliff face. Syus nodded and fired at another robot. He couldn't really see the symbols, so he just shot at anyone who got close. Or anyone he could see had the purple sigil.

Bullet started to explain.

Mic and Needle accelerated, screeching past Autobot and Decepticon alike, intent on doing some damage. They'd seen Jade get shot down, and saw Bullet and Gobee go over the edge of the overlooking cliff. Now, they were going to get some payback. If there was ever anything that got either of them mad, it would be damaging one of their friends. And now several of them had been damaged. It had been Windstriker and Jade's choice to go into battle, and Bullet was trying to help. But loyalty was one thing that mattered to all of them. And Bullet was second in rank. That had been decided before they joined this battle. Now Gobee... Gobee hadn't deserved getting shot out of Syus's grip like that. They hadn't seen it clearly, but the duo could have sworn their friends had been shot. And in the tumultuous battle like this... for all they knew he could have been deactivated by now.

And most annoying of all, Megatron had dared to _taunt_ them. That in itself would set off Mic's temper. And it had made Needle mad. The pickup truck could only imagine what was going through his friend's head right now. The black, green, and blue pickup truck followed Mic, who was a white Camaro Z28, as he swerved around a fistfighting Wheeljack and Soundwave.

Mic was the first to transform. Bonecrusher ran up from one side, but Mic grabbed him and tossed him aside. "I'm going to take you apart piece by piece, Megatron!!!" he growled, optics burning with anger. If there was one thing that would get a number of Decepticons out of your way in a hurry, it was a berserker. Needle smirked at the Decepticons that quickly backed off as they rushed forward. Needle already knew her was mad. Just not... well, okay, so he Iwas/I REALLY mad. Anyway, Needle shot at two reflectors, while the third made his getaway. Mic, who had assumed the worst, was out for energon. He hadn't seen Syus or the others since the beginning of the battle, and hadn't even seen Windstriker fly over.

"What the.." Megatron turned just in time to get a powerful punch to the face that sent the Decepticon leader sprawling to the ground. Blitzwing and Longhaul came running up behind them. Both Mic and Needle simultaneously retrieved their blasters from subspace and fired at Megatron. the two would never have gotten free from the two Decepticons if Syus hadn't flown down and shot them both in the back several times. They were knocked down, but not out. Megatron was unfazed, but low on energy. Perhaps he would let this new dragon transformer deal with his subordinates. "Tim! You're alive!" Mic declared happily. Megatron started to get up.  
Mic elbowed him as hard as he could, sending him back down. Megatron growled. His sensors were starting to frizz from being so low on power. His plan had been perfect. Now he was going to have to hear it from Starscream the Ientire/I way home. He hoped the jet had been shot down and his vocalizer was damaged. At least. He started to slink to the side, and managed to get away from them. He looked around for Soundwave and the rest of his troops.

Syus ignored Megatron and instead studied his friend. "Perhaps we should leave." he stated evenly.

'Whattya mean leave, we've got them on the run! We can kick their tin metal asses all the way to Cybertron, or wherever they came from!" Mic argued. Needle just nodded in silent agreement from beside him. He wanted just as badly as Mic to go do some more damage, but he knew better than to argue with their leader.

Syus regarded Mic and Needle with a look that said he was reading their body language and expressions like a book. "It is futile to fight anymore. The battle is nearly over, and it will only cause more damage to our group." he stated, once more scanning the anger written across his friend's face. "Don't worry, Jon. Our friends are fine. They are still alive." he reassured.

The trio made their way up to the top of the valley, avoiding Decepticons. Jade made her way up to where they were, and Syus flipped on his communicator, voice still deceptively calm. "Everybody fall back. We are retreating."

"No, we have to force them back." a voice suddenly said from beside them. A familiar form appeared, making Syus almost do a double take. Wyldkat smirked inwardly. She'd been just another dumb car. Until now, that is. Jade did do a double take, openly surprised. "Wyldkat!!? Oh my gosh!!! Dennis is gonna have a heart attack when he..."

"Don't you dare." Wyldkat interceded, firing a shot at a passing Decepticon.

The group looked up as Megatron and Prime were seemingly facing off again. The Decepticons were still trying to pick off the few remaining Autobots, which was currently about half, and they weren't giving up.

Hook and Scrapper limped onto the scene. Apparently they were the two that had been knocked out earlier.

Megatron announced loudly "It is time to finish this, Prime!!!" He motioned to the constructions. "Constructions, merge into Devastator!" Slowly but surely, the six mechs transformed and merged to form a giant towering menace. Megatron fired his arm cannon at Prime, but a rust-colored blur got in between them.

Megatron growled and fired again. This time he hit Prime, even though Ironhide had intercepted the first shot. Before either Autobot could recoil from the fusion cannon blasts, the greenish-yellow monstrosity known as Devastator stomped up, grabbing up both Autobots. The gestalt threw Ironhide into his teammates like a rag doll, sending Cliffjumper flying, and getting surprised protests from several Cassetticons that were attacking them. "Prepare for termination, Optimus Prime." The giant threw the red and blue Autobot at the ground at his feet with all his strength.

"Ooh." Jade and Wyldkat both cringed.

"That had to hurt." Jade noted.

Megatron walked up to about six feet away from where Prime was laying facedown and aimed his arm cannon at the leader's head. Prime raised his head enough to give Megatron a defiant look. "Now, where was I, Prime?" Megatron smirked maliciously.

"Oh yes, I remember now. The part where I win and you lose!" he cackled and powered up his arm cannon...

Suddenly there was a metallic flash, and a purple and tan femme jet stood between the two adversaries, weapons drawn. "Leave him alone, Megatron." she said icily.

Windstriker had placed herself dead-center in front of the most dangerous mech in the galaxy.

The Decepticon leader shot her a bemused look. "Or you'll do what, _female_?"

Bullet fired a shot between the two from above, hitting Starscream who was running up to settle his own personal vendetta with the femme. In the instant the shot passed between the two, Windstriker and Megatron both glanced up at where Bullet and the others were standing. But Megatron's attention went back to his opponent faster than Windstriker, and he delivered a powerful punch in the jaw that sent the femme flying back almost on top of Optimus.

She landed next to him, and started to get up, but Megatron fired his arm cannon, sending her down again, chest and side sparking. "Wendy!" Jade yelled from above. But Syus grabbed her arm. He simply shook his head, drawing surprised looks from his comrades.

"Wait for it."

Megatron started forward. "Just who do you think you are to think that the likes of _you _can defeat _Me_!?" laughter could be heard faintly in the background. The other Decepticons, probably.

Every circuit seemed to pulse with pain. Realizing there was smoke coming from underneath her made her realize just how damaged she was. Now she, too, was facedown, as though in some sort of perverted worship of this warlord who threatened the world she cared about. Windstriker tried to get back up, but realized she could barely move

"What a pity. Now I'll just have to destroy you both." the tall silver Decepticon chuckled evilly from a few feet away.

Still able to see, Windstriker turned her head slightly to see the mech beside her. Their gazes connected, and Whirlwind felt something flash through her.

" ...Optimus.."

Before the Decepticon leader could advance again, the jet turned and fired four shots in a row at his head. All four connected with their target.

"Now." Syus said.

Megatron growled. "Why you little..."

His insult was cut off by a wild war cry from above. The mauve-and-blue seeker slammed into Megatron, sending him back to slam into the crevasse wall. Before he could react, Syus lunged, impaling him with his Kitana. Mic nudged his way forward and landed a nice one-two punch before wrapping his hands around the Decepticon leader's throat.  
He growled. Megatron squirmed, coolant pouring from the hole in his chest armor. "Soundwave... help.. me..." he called weakly.

Mic leaned in, so their faces were mere inches apart. "There's no help for you now, Megatron." he growled, a sinister smile making his intent clear.

Syus removed his sword, checked it for dents and looked at Mic. "Let him go, mic." he stated, sheathing his sword. "What? No! Why the hell do you want me to let him go now!?" Mic demanded, grip tightening. Syus simply motioned upward. Mic rolled his optics upward to find Devastator looming over them, hand on hips.

The white car did a two-second rethink, then let go.

The group instantaneously went seven separate directions as the silver Decepticon leader hit the ground with an audible 'thud'. Devastator didn't know whether to give chase, who to chase, or to see to his leader first.

Jade hurried over to Windstriker while Devastator was distracted and hauled her up. "Are you okay?" Jade asked.

"Do I look okay?" Windstriker replied sarcastically, collapsing and causing the smaller seeker to stagger under the weight. Syus came over to help her off the smoldering battlefield. Jade glanced back at the Autobot leader, but continued on. The red and blue Autobot looked at each of them from where he had fallen. The sound of jet engines echoed across the sky, and a white form collided with devastator. Jade looked up. "Oh sure, _now_ the Aerialbots show up." she shook her head.

Megatron struggled and failed to find his feet. Mechfluid leaked from where one of his lines had been nicked by Syus's sword. The strike had also damaged his equilibrium circuitry, too, apparently. "Decepticons, retreat." he called. Devastator separated into the constructions, and Soundwave made his way over to help him up.

Syus looked at the retreating group. "Well." Jade finally said to Bullet. "At least we didn't have to use that plan we had." Bullet looked back at her. "Because we couldn't get Megatron away from the others. Perhaps next time, we should rethink our strategy."

Windstriker lifted her head. "Yathink?" she groaned, then put her head back down. Jade looked worriedly at her. "So what now? I don't know if the Autobots would help us, and we don't have any other means of getting Windy fixed." she said.

Gobee started forward, down into the valley, and towards where the Autobot's medic was seeing to repairs on Prime. He looked up.

Mic started forward, too. Ratchet put himself between Prime and the new group and aimed his gun at them.

"Apparently, they don't get the idea." Mic started forward faster.

Brawn and Windcharger also aimed their weapons at them. Cliffjumper fired off a shot at Mic.

"Hey! Why you little..." He started to aim his gun, but Jade leapt forward. "Hey, waitaminute! Mic!"

Windstriker made a noise as she went over to one side. Syus glanced at her "Jade!" he barked.

The jet looked over at the other Autobots, who were also damaged, some more than others, who were coming out from behind cover. A couple more, she couldn't think of their names, aimed weapons at them. One tried to shoot at them, but missed completely. Even if they were capable of helping, the Autobot medic would have his hands full for a while. Besides, it looked like the Autobots didn't want to help them anyway. Even after they saved Prime.

"Let's go." Mic said disgustedly.

They turned back to the cliff, and looked up at where Syus had been a moment ago to find he wasn't there.

The trio looked at each other and hurried up the cliff to find a strange pair of flyers talking to Syus. The first, apparently a mech, was reddish brown, with black and green highlights. He had wings that angled downward, and a cockpit rested on his chest. You couldn't see his face for his dark almost black optic visor, and vocoder mask.

His companion, who was apparently a femme, was squatting next to Windstriker, who was sitting against a rock. The femme, who was red and blue, with purple and pink accents seemed to have the exact same transformation as the mech. "And then..." Windstriker explained. "He just hit me with that... cannon of his."

The femme flier nodded. "It's called a fusion cannon."

Windstriker nodded. "I figured. But I didn't know it was that powerful."

The red, pink and blue femme nodded again. she didn't have a visor covering her optics like the mech,, but had the vocoder mask. Her optics were a cornflower blue, a sort of blue with purplish hues to it. More less a purplish-blue.

"Your flight systems have been short-circuited, and your equilibrium and balance centers may have been effected as well." she explained.

"Your friend is damaged." the reddish brown, black, and green mech said. Jade and Mic gave each other a glance. Syus nodded. "We would be most thankful if you could help her out. However, we are not looking to join any faction." he started to turn away. The femme made a sound like she'd just been insulted. "Nor do we." she added under her breath.

The darker colored mech explained. "Nor are we. We have no faction. We are neutrals. we help all those that have been wounded by this war." He turned to look at the femme, the on towards the horizon. "We can repair your friend at our base. We ask nothing in return."

The femme-flier nodded. "I'm Dusk." she introduced.

The mech turned around and extended a hand in the customary terran greeting. "I am Razor." Syus grasped his forearm in a warrior's greeting. Razor smiled under his vocoder mask. "I have not received such a greeting since my days on Cybertron long ago." he turned to walk up to Windstriker. "Come, we will show you the way."

Dusk, the femme, helped Windstriker to her feet. "I can carry you if you like." she offered.

Windstriker looked at Syus. "I would rather...umm..."

Syus stepped forward. "I can take you"

"thanks." Windstriker looked a bit sheepish as the Dragon-former picked her up. The flyers transformed and lifted off.

"Vertically", Jade noted. She hadn't seen anything like them on Earth. They looked nothing like any Earth jet she'd ever seen. They had absolutely no tail section, and only two small ridges that started halfway down the sides of the cockpit that squared off at the back that _might_ be taken as tail fins. They looked something like the batwing, she smirked. But the wings were smooth, almost angular, and thicker at the body of the jet than the ends, which each wing angled forward in a sort of odd L shape.

Needle, Mic, and Gobee transformed, and Wyldkat took the lead. Jade transformed and followed the fliers and Syus in the air. "There's a reason why I don't know who you are." the jet thought. "And I am going to find out why."

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A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I just found the old handwritten (on notebook paper) copy of Transformations, and I'm working on transferring it to the computer, and do some rewriting/spellchecking on it.

This is the final chapter of part one, I think, and the next one up will be part two. If you want me to start on it, leave me reviews, okay? more reviews means I'll get it up faster.

Thanks!

Later!


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